Dialogue for peace: Nawaz urges govt to initiate Taliban talks

PML-N chief declines the banned outfit’s offer to be a guarantor.

LAHORE:

Key opposition leader Nawaz Sharif on Thursday turned down a mediatory role in possible negotiations between the government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) but advised the two sides to initiate the dialogue anyway.

On Sunday, TTP expressed willingness to start conditional peace talks with the government if Nawaz and two other senior politicians would act as guarantors in the process. The other two leaders named by the banned outfit’s spokesman were Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl’s  Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Jamaat-e-Islami’s Syed Munawar Hasan.

In an official statement on Thursday, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president said the use of force was not a solution to any problem. “The spilling of blood only creates hatred and furthers distances… Pakistan is paying a heavy price [for it],” he maintained, adding that TTP’s offer for negotiations must be taken seriously. “The people of Pakistan need peace.”

The PML-N chief urged to government to initiate result-oriented negotiation process with TTP without further delay. “PML-N has always supported the process of resolving problems through negotiations,” he said in the statement.

While refusing to become a guarantor for the talks himself, Nawaz observed that “no one could probably act in that capacity, given the government’s record.”



Talking to The Express Tribune, PML-N senior leader Tariq Azim defended the party’s stance to opt out of any mediatory role.

“Authority and responsibility go hand in hand… The opposition neither has the authority nor is it in a position to guarantee the success of talks with TTP.”

According to Azim, PML-N believes the government and the Pakistan Army should initiate negotiations. The party could only have a role in negotiations if the government sought its help in this regard.

“Otherwise, it’s the sole prerogative of the Pakistan Peoples Party-led coalition government to conduct talks with TTP,” he added.


Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2013.